Archive for June 7th, 2008

With the possible exception of people in San Antonio and Detroit, I think most people who enjoy the NBA are pleased as punch about the resumption of one of the great rivalries in all sports, the Lakers and the Celtics. To be honest, it was Lakers-Celtics that got me into watching basketball in the first place. I mean, I had watched the Finals before. I remember rooting for the Sixers when Dr. J won his only championship, but even then, that didn’t turn me into a fan of the NBA. I couldn’t have told you anything that was going on during the season. But when I saw the Lakers win the ‘chip in 85, I was more than mildly interested. In large part, that was because the Lakers and the Celtics seemed like inverses of each other - the Celtics were the white team and the Lakers were Black. Needless to say, I rolled with Magic ‘nem.

This year, it’s a little different. The Lakers aren’t the Black team. If anything, the Celtics would be the Black team, since their starting five is all-Black. The Lakers have an international squad going. For me, though, it’s kinda hard not to think of the teams the way I used to 20 years ago. For that, and because they have my all-time favorite NBA player, as well as my favorite of the current crop (that exercise in dry-snitching, notwithstanding), I’m going with the Lakers. But I won’t be mad if the Celtics win, either.

Here I am, all geeked up to write about MMA and Lakers vs. Celtics and all that good stuff, and the internet gets taken down by a thunderstorm. For two days. Two days as in, like, 50 hours or so. And because the internet provider is also the cable provider, that means that onea the few things I would’ve watched, Game 1 of the Finals, got no play at the crib. I was massively disappointed. It’s 2008. I know we can’t control the weather, but given the amount of our lives that depends on connectivity, it would seem like there would be some sort of backup protocols or something. Twelve hours I can deal with. Twenty-four is annoying, but still manageable. After 24 hours, though…that’s janky.